With the continued presence of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has maintained that the government must not just keep on filing diplomatic protests against Beijing—it should take more appropriate action to check China’s nonstop intrusions by accelerating talks on joint maritime patrols in the disputed territory with allies like the United States (US), Japan and Australia that seem willing to do so.
When asked in a recent television (TV) interview on whether the filing of a diplomatic protest before the Chinese Embassy in Manila over the Chinese presence at Ayungin Shoal and Sabina Shoal was enough, Villafuerte said: “No, it’s not enough. I made a statement about it (last week).”
Villafuerte expressed the hope that the government could fast-track separate talks with allies such as the US, Japan and Australia on the proposed conduct of joint maritime patrols in the WPS in the South China Sea, following what Manila has condemned as Beijing’s latest “aggressive actions” in that disputed portion of our territory.
The president of the National Unity Party (NUP), Villafuerte said, “We should talk to our allies and have joint border patrols already. The US, Japan, Australia and all our allies should help us do joint border patrols. I think that’s the start.”
“If China is really sincere in saying they want peace, they should stop these infractions. For me, as a Filipino, it’s a direct affront to us as a people. What they’re doing right now, with the laser pointing, you know, we should deploy vessels around the contested areas.’
He further said on TV that, “I think part of the solution right now is for us to appeal to our allies … joint border patrols.”
In a previous TV interview, Villafuerte expressed the hope that the government could fast-track separate talks with allies such as the US, Japan and Australia on the proposed conduct of joint maritime patrols in the WPS in the South China Sea, following what Manila has condemned as Beijing’s latest “aggressive actions” in that disputed portion of our territory.
“We are hoping that our Coast Guard officials could put on the fast lane the ongoing separate talks with their counterparts in our ally-countries like the US and Japan on the proposed conduct of joint maritime patrols in the WPS where Chinese vessels have had non-stop intrusions and bellicose maneuvers,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte also hoped that the government could similarly continue talks with Canberra officials on possible joint patrols with Australia in the disputed territory.
He called on the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to “expand the scope of such planned joint patrols to check future Chinese incursions by initiating similar negotiations, if there aren’t any yet, with our allies other than the US and Japan that have likewise condemned what the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) described in its latest diplomatic protest as Beijing’s ‘aggressive actions’ in the WPS.”
Villafuerte welcomed the revelation on TV by Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG’s spokesman on the WPS, that our Coast Guard has been negotiating with its American counterpart on possible joint patrols, and that similar talks have also been initiated with the Japanese, although this one with Tokyo was still in the “infancy stage.”
Given that the PCG is no longer part of the military establishment and is now under the supervision of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Tarriela said our Coast Guard officials’ current discussions with their American counterparts are different from the decision to “restart” joint patrols that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and our Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. had reached during Austin’s Jan. 31-Feb. 2 visit to Manila.
Joint Philippine-US maritime patrols were suspended under the then-Duterte administration because of the strained ties at that time between Manila and Washington.
Villafuerte also welcomed plans on joint patrols by the Philippines and Australia, which was tackled during the recent meeting between Galvez and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles in Manila.
Villafuerte also hoped that the government could similarly continue talks with Canberra officials on possible joint patrols with Australia in the disputed territory.
In a joint press briefing after his Feb. 22 meeting with Galvez, Marles said: “We did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work and we hope that comes to fruition. As countries which are committed to the global rules-based order, it is natural that we should think about ways in which we can cooperate in this respect.”
Villafuerte said one stronger action the government could take is to have joint maritime patrols in the disputed SCS area with our allied countries, including the US.
He was responding to the diplomatic protest that the DFA released to the Chinese Embassy in Manila last month over the Feb. 6 incident at the Ayungin Shoal in the WPS, in which Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5205 pointed a military-grade laser to the PCG’s BRP Malapascua as it was on a rotation and supply mission there for the military outpost BRP Sierra Madre, causing the temporary blindness of our ship’s crew members.
He pointed out that other countries that had denounced the latest Ayungin Shoal incident included Japan, Australia and Canada.
According to Tarriela, the laser incident was the second one of that nature, as a CCG ship also pointed a laser at the PCG tugboat BRP Habagat as it was on a similar supply mission at the WPS in June last year.
“I think a simple diplomatic protest right now is not enough,” Villafuerte said on TV. “Definitely, it’s a part of harassment and bullying—a big, powerful country bullying the Philippines.”
Considering that “the Philippines cannot fight China on its own, we should promote relationships with our allies … (with) the US, Japan, our neighbors, to make China feel that it cannot continue doing this. It’s really sad that this thing is happening, that we are being bullied. We should stand up and unite as a nation to tell China to stop this.”
